On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Wednesday, January 8, 2014. A $130 million federal lawsuit recently filed by an unwed father offers inspiration for Illinois dads in similar situations. The plaintiff, a Utah man, is suing his son’s mother for allegedly placing their child for adoption without prior paternal knowledge or proper consent. He further alleges the agency and adoptive parents conspired in an “illegal” and deceitful infant adoption to “deprive” him of custody. Court papers indicate that the unmarried couple separated before the baby’sContinue reading
Tag Archives: unmarried couples
Joint finances for unmarried couples
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Friday, December 27, 2013. When Illinois couples divorce, the procedure for dividing assets can be fairly straightforward. They try to negotiate an agreement, and if they are unable to do so, the judge will order an equitable distribution of all assets acquired by either spouse. However, unmarried couples may wonder about how to separate their joint finances if the relationship ends. In this scenario, one of the best ways for a person to avoid a problem is to takeContinue reading
Chicago fathers’ rights could be leveraged in fake pregnancy scam
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. In a case that could happen in Chicago or anywhere with trusting friends, a couple bilked everyone around them by claiming that the wife had miscarried twins. The fact was, there would never have been a child custody battle with this alleged mother and father, since the pregnancy was never real in the first place. The duo received money for funeral expenses and other supposed costs due to the nonexistent tragedy. They also received jail time onceContinue reading
Living together is the new trend
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Wednesday, August 21, 2013. More and more individuals are choosing to live together without the benefit/burden of marriage. They may own a home together, share a bank account and raise children together without being legally married. This lifestyle provides some benefits to individuals in Chicago and other areas. However, making the choice to live together without marriage can pose unique legal problems, such as issues with child custody and property division. The Centers for Disease Control reports that three quarters ofContinue reading
Unmarried couples not recognized by courts
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Monday, May 20, 2013. Illinois residents might be interested to hear that unmarried couples are not recognized by courts when they split up, or, essentially, ‘get a divorce” like married couples do. Studies show that nearly half of the adults in the U.S. in their 30s and 40s have lived together with their significant others even though they weren’t married. However, when it comes to finances, the law does not recognize relationships that aren’t documented on paper, which canContinue reading
Protecting financial assets when couples live together
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Statistics show that almost half of U.S. adults between the ages of 30 and 49 have lived together without the benefit of marriage. Marriage offers a number of benefits that living together does not. A break up is rarely easy, but when couples who are older separate, the problems are compounded, especially if they have additional assets. In some cases, the law doesn’t afford legal protections to unmarried people, especially in financial matters and inContinue reading
New method of testing paternity eliminates wait
On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Unmarried Couples on Friday, December 14, 2012. While child custody and child support matters often arise in the context of divorce, marriage is not a necessity for the birth of a child. When a couple is not married and has a child, as is the case where a marriage is involved, there is an assumption that the parents are each of the individuals involved. This of course is not always the case. A paternity test can be administered to either confirm orContinue reading